December 11, 2014

Care to Share??

As a kid, summer holidays meant going to Grandma's. All the kids would eat and sleep together. On one such evenings, my grandma's sister lined us up. Wondering what surprise we had in store, we were eagerly waiting. She got a big vessel with left over rice and started making red balls of rice with the fresh mango pickle of the season. Each of us got one serving and nothing could taste heavenly than that. She made sure all the food was eaten. From then, I noticed she would do it whenever there was left over food. That became a habit in the years to come. In school, if we happened to leave the food in the lunch box, we were made to eat it after coming home. Despising the stale food, we would better eat it at school. That habit turned into a ritual. However, being the picky eater I was, I always fussed and complained about food. Whenever I threw a tantrum, I remember my dad saying : "Annam Parabrahma Swaroopam" for which the meaning can be found here.Some habits die hard. The habit turned ritual of not wasting food continued from my childhood to my kids'. Now, my kids finish their left overs in the car as they know they don't get an evening snack if any food is wasted. The stories I heard as a child, of starving children across the world are passed on to my kids as well. They now know that food is not to be wasted instead be saved and shared. I make sure to donate cans of food each year during the Thanksgiving food drives. We always carry plenty in our pantry that we don't use all the time. Don't we?If not wasting food is a habit I nurtured over the years, sharing of food is another. We as Indians are taught to share the food we have before we eat. Let us not restrict our sharing habit just to our families, friends, neighbors, colleagues or co-passengers. Let us continue to share it with the starving children of our country. To those who has to choose between hunger and education. And I hope, you will all join with me in this journey.Akshaya Patra is putting a tremendous effort in this regards. Feeding thousands of underprivileged school children so that they can continue with their education.

P.s: I am submitting this at the 11th hour. I live in Central Time Zone, USA. I still have 1:30 minutes for the deadline according to our time. Hope I meet the criteria and this post helps to feed a child.

Great post, Latha. Glad you wrote for the cause. Indeed, even in my home, we are strict about food wastage. We don't throw leftovers in the bin. Yes, and leftovers in tiffins have to be finished. Sometimes, when I see so much wastage of food, it makes me sad. Unless we inculcate this habit in our kids, how will they learn?

Thank you, Rachna. I remember seeing an email from blogadda but long forgot about it. When I read Amit's post yesterday, little did I realise it was the last day. Hope they do accept the post and sponsor a kid. I know what you mean. Here in the U.S, when people throw so much food at parties or pile up their plates and trash what they cannot eat, makes me so sad. That's why, I give so less food to my kids on their plates. If they don't eat, I eat it.

It's readers like you people that want me to not skip writing. :) Been a bit busy with the new house construction and all that stuff. I hope to fall into routine within a month or so...and that sounds a long time, isn't it?

I'm grateful to my strict parents and grandparents who never even gave us the option of wasting food. We had to eat it no matter what. Now I know why that is important. And that has become a habit. When I go out to eat I take only small servings so that I dont end up wasting something.

Exactly, Ashwini...If we don't give an option to kids, they will learn it themselves. Even last evening, both of them ate only half of their lunch boxes...they ate it as soon as they came home. I also do the same. When I go to parties or buffets, I take only so much that I can eat.

It's so true that people--especially here in America---are terribly wasteful when it comes to throwing out food. I tend to eat the leftovers for days when no one else will, just because I can't bear the thought of throwing out perfectly good food!

Thought I left a comment here a few days ago on this post but I don't see it. Just wanted to say that in America so much food is wasted. In my family we eat the leftovers until everything is gone before I cook dinner again.